Fringe File #5: The Last Day of the Fringe Arts Theatre by Amy Donahue - August 14, 2022August 14, 2022 Today is the last day of the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Here are seven show recommendations to close out the festival, one for the first five time slots and a split choice for the finale: 1 PM 3 Guys on Stage Who Get Hit with Hot Dogs, Snow Cones, etc. (an alleged Theatre
REVIEW: The Veil of the Immortal Beethoven (Minnesota Orchestra) Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 31, 2022July 31, 2022 A portrait of composer Ludwig van Beethoven superimposed over a photograph of Orchestra Hall by Greg Helgeson. The Minnesota Orchestra's one-night-only Immortal Beethoven event on Saturday was one of the most distinctive evenings in its hall in recent memory. It was certainly not at all a traditional concert. Imagine a crazy bedtime story
REVIEW: Visceral Sweat Keeps Hitting (Guthrie Theater) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - July 31, 2022July 31, 2022 The calm before the storm in Sweat by Lynn Nottage, now playing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. L-R: Lynnette R. Freeman (Cynthia), Terry Hempleman (Stan), Amy Staats (Jessie), Noah Plomgren (Jason), and Terry Bell (Chris). Photo by Dan Norman. Lynn Nottage's play Sweat, now playing at the Guthrie Theater, is far
REVIEW: Splendid Wickedness in Wicked (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 30, 2022July 30, 2022 Part prequel, part revisionist history: the musical Wicked tells how many of the beloved and iconic characters and events in The Wizard of Oz became that way. Pictured: Jennafer Newberry as Glinda in the National Tour of Wicked. Photo by Joan Marcus. There is not a lot new to be said
NEWS: Jungle Theater Cancels Rest of Cambodian Rock Band Run Arts Music Theatre by Amy Donahue - July 29, 2022July 30, 2022 The cast of the Jungle Theater's production of Cambodian Rock Band, which closed a week early due to illness in the cast. Photo by Rich Ryan. There is a saying, often used ironically: "This is why we can't have nice things." Un-ironically, it accurately describes COVID-19. Even when it is not directly
PREVIEW: Opera on the Lake Returns with The Merry Widow Arts Music Opera Theatre by Amy Donahue - July 24, 2022July 25, 2022 Opera singer, director, and arts visionary Anne Wieben (standing) performing with the Opera on the Lake company at an outdoor concert at the Lake Harriet Bandshell in July 2021. COVID-19 has barely slowed Anne Wieben down. As theatres around the world shuttered, the Minnesota native and opera singer went about finding
INTERVIEW: On Collide’s Class of ’85 Return (x2) Arts Dance Theatre by Basil Considine - July 17, 2022July 18, 2022 Lifts, leans, and arm-raises in COLLIDE Theatrical's Class of '85, which returns for a 4-show revival at the Gremlin Theater in St. Paul from July 21-24. Photo by Alexis Lund. COLLIDE Theatrical is nine years' old. For a child to be going to high school at this tender age would be
INTERVIEW: Gary Briggle on G&S, Interim Leadership, and Murder Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 Some of the many faces of singer, actor, director, playwright, and arts leader Gary Briggle. Except for a penchant for murder (on-stage, that is), Gary Briggle keeps reinventing himself. Glance at his resume, though, and a few trends emerge. Opera director and principal tenor in Ohio. Television actor in the 1980s. Long-time
INTERVIEW: Carin Bratlie Wethern of Theatre Pro Rata Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - July 4, 2022July 4, 2022 Some of Artistic Director Carin Bratlie Wethern's notes for Theatre Pro Rata's 2022 hit production of Sarah Ruhl's Orlando. In a 2011 article for The Guardian, Lyn Gardner asked, "Why do some arts organizations survive and thrive while others wither and die?" This was not idle speculation: coming in the aftermath
REVIEW: Ain’t Too Proud: What Becomes of the Brokenhearted? Arts Dance Music Theatre by Brian Bix - June 29, 2022June 30, 2022 Harrell Holmes Jr., Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Jalen Harris, Marcus Paul James, and James T. Lane star as The Temptations in the musical Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, which opened Tuesday night at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN. When measuring records sold and overall artistic influence, The